Serpentum ad Leo, Leo ad Serpentum
by MinorSock
Summary: Two little points of divergence can change everything: Hagrid forgot Harry's key at Gringotts and Draco found an old book in Flourish and Blotts. Slytherin!Independent!Harry Gryffindor!Draco (NOT HARRYxDRACO SLASH) REWRITE


**CHAPTER 1**

As Harry walked through the large foyer of Gringotts, with Hagrid trailing closely behind him, he marvelled at his surroundings. The vaulted ceilings of Gringotts soared high above him and the large entrance hall was lined with hundreds of doors. A counter with goblin tellers sitting behind it stretched the length of the hall. At the counter, many witches and wizards were exchanging coins and precious stones with the tellers or being led through one of the many doors.

Harry and Hagrid fell into line behind a tall woman with short brown hair who was dressed in flowing black robes. Soon it was their turn to speak with a teller. They walked up to the counter, and Hagrid informed the goblins they were looking to be taken down to the Potter vaults.

"That may be the case," the goblin said, looking the pair up and down, "but I'll need the key to the vaults, sir."

"O' course! It's got ter be in here somewhere," Hagrid said, rummaging in his pockets. He pulled out multiple pieces of crumpled paper, a half eaten apple, a handkerchief, and a handful of moldy dog biscuits, scattering them all over the counter.

"If you wouldn't mind, sir," the goblin said, motioning to the pile of junk Hagrid had deposited on his workspace.

"Right, right, lemme deal with that," Hagrid said. He stuffed the assorted bits of garbage back in his pocket.

"I...can't find the key. You wouldn't mind jus' taking us down ter his vault, would ya? He's Harry Potter, see," Hagrid said.

"I'm afraid we can't, sir. But if Mister Potter would like to accompany Goldhammer to the Potter account management room, I'm sure a blood test could be administered," the teller said.

"That'd work. But ya wouldn't mind taking me to get the you-know-what in vault seven hundred an' thirteen while Harry does the blood test? I've got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid said, placing a letter sealed with the crest of Hogwarts in the teller's hands.

The goblin carefully scrutinized the letter, going as far to examine the signature with a magnifying glass.

"Very well. I'll have someone talk you were you need to go. Griphook! Goldhammer!" the goblin said.

Two goblins came out of one of the many doors and walked over to the counter.

"Griphook, take this man down to seven hundred thirteen. Goldhammer, I presume you know where Mister Potter here needs to go? A blood test is in order for him seeing as his...guardian appears to have left the key," the goblin sitting behind the counter said

Goldhammer nodded at the teller, and motioned for Harry to follow him.

"Harry? Jus' meet me up here when yer done, then we can get the rest of yer shopping done," Hagrid said as he walked in the other direction with Griphook.

Harry followed Goldhammer through a door near the end of the entrance hall that bore a gold plate reading "account management offices." The door led to a hallway lined with further doors. These doors all held plaques bearing the names of what Harry assumed were wizarding families. There was Abbott, and Avery...Black...Flint...Macmillan...Potter. Goldhammer stopped at the door bearing Harry's surname and tapped the doorknob twice, causing it to open.

The inside of the room was larger than Harry expected. It held a desk stacked with papers, which Harry assumed belonged to Goldhammer. The back wall of the room was lined with bookcases, and the far left corner held a large bowl containing swirling silver liquid. The wall behind Goldhammer's desk was taken up by a large painting of the Potter family crest-a black background with three white roses and a white stripe through the center.

Goldhammer sat behind the desk and motioned for Harry to take one of the armchairs positioned in front of the desk. These too were emblazoned with the Potter crest.

"So, Mister Potter. If you are indeed who you say you are, you have quite the vast fortune awaiting you in your family vaults. However, you'll have to take a quick blood test in order to prove you are Harry Potter," Goldhammer said.

"Alright," Harry said, "How do I do that?"

The goblin raised an eyebrow at Harry. Blood tests, it seemed, were something Harry was expected to know about. Goldhammer opened one of his desk drawers and procured a ceremonial dagger and a piece of parchment.

"Simply prick your right thumb with this dagger and let the blood drop onto the paper. Magic will take care of the rest," he said.

Harry took the dagger from Goldhammer's hand and did as instructed. As soon as the blood touched the paper, it started to form itself into words. Harry watched, astounded, as his blood began to spell out his name. From there, it branched into his father's name, then his grandfather and grandmother, his great grandparents, and so on for many generations. After his father's family had been mapped out as far back as it could, Harry's blood began to identify his mother's family. He coughed a little when the names of the Dursleys were spelled out, but quickly regained his composure. The whole family was finally mapped out, ending with "Sabella and Salazar Slytherin." Harry scoffed a little at their names, but didn't find them as ridiculously posh as his father's ancient ancestors "Aurelius and Ophelia Cunningham-St. Clair."

Goldhammer took the paper from Harry and carefully went over it. His eyebrows furrowed a little and he cautiously pulled a second piece of paper from inside his desk. Harry couldn't tell what the second paper was, but the goblin was looking frantically back and forth between the two parchments.

"Pardon me, Mister Potter. I must excuse myself for a minute to retrieve Erguss. I trust you'll remain here," Goldhammer said as he stood to leave.

Harry nodded. Goldhammer's glare made it perfectly clear that he had no choice but to stay right where he was. Once the goblin left, Harry stood up to take a look around the room. He knew better than to rummage through Goldhammer's desk, but figured everywhere else would be perfectly acceptable. After all, this was his family's account management room.

Harry walked over to the bookshelf and perused the titles. There were books about the Potter family, books about Harry himself (these all had ridiculous titles like "Harry Potter vs. the Dragon of Doom), books about business, and books about wizarding etiquette. One title in particular caught Harry's eye: The Pureblood's Guide to EVERYTHING in the Wizarding World. It could be useful, Harry thought, given that he knew next to nothing about the new world he'd entered that morning.

He returned to the armchair, book in hand. He was about to open it and begin reading when the door was opened by Goldhammer. He was accompanied by a small goblin with wild hair and glasses perched low on his nose. The two goblins paid Harry very little attention as they went behind Goldhammer's desk and began to compare the two pieces of parchment. The goblins were speaking to each other frantically in a language Harry could only assume was Goblin, tapping on the papers urgently. Finally, they nodded to each other and turned to Harry.

The new goblin spoke first.

"Mister Potter, my name is Erguss. I am the chief genealogist for the goblins and it _appears_ that you are a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. We can't tell why this ancestry didn't show up on your mother's blood test, causing her to be incorrectly identified as a muggleborn," he said.

"I-I don't know what that means," Harry said.

"There is no time for us to explain right now, else you'd be here for days. I'll give you a list of books to read, and that should give you enough of an explanation. We'll be putting a team of goblins to figuring out why exactly this sort of discrepancy occurred, but the blood tests never lie. We'll be in touch regarding your ancestry however," Goldhammer said.

"Alright, I guess that makes sense? Can I take this book?" Harry asked, gesturing to the book in his hand.

"I'm afraid you cannot Mister Potter, as it's property of the bank. I'm sure there are other books of that sort to be found in Diagon Alley, and I would advise you look there. If you have no other questions, I'll give you a bag that can refill from your account directly and take you back to your guardian," Goldhammer said.

Harry nodded and grinned, gratefully accepting the bag Goldhammer provided.

"And Mister Potter? It would be wise of you to keep the details of your ancestry to yourself for now, at least until it's been investigated further," Goldhammer said.

The two goblins led Harry out into the entrance hall where Hagrid was waiting for him, a grubby brown package tucked under his arm.

"Ready ter go, Harry?" Hagrid asked.

"Yeah. Can we go to the bookstore first?" Harry said.

Hagrid grinned at Harry and led him out into Diagon Alley.

As the bright light of the afternoon hit Harry, he tried to get oriented in the alley. It was nearly impossible though, because there were so many people and so many things to look at. Hagrid led Harry to Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore in Diagon Alley.

"Listen, Harry, yeh wouldn't mind if I slipped off to the Cauldron for for a Pick-Me-Up?" Hagrid asked, looking just a little sick.

"Yeah, I'll just be in here," Harry said, motioning towards Flourish and Blotts.

Harry walked in, causing the little bell above the door to tinkle. One of the retail assistants walked towards him. He was short and squat, his stringy gray hair framing a thin face marred by wrinkles and scars.

"And what brings you here today, Mister Potter?" the man asked lazily, his eyes drifting to Harry's scar. Harry was almost glad the man didn't make a big deal out of who he was, because he didn't seem to care. Granted, Harry could tell the man didn't care about much else either.

"Well, I need the first year books for Hogwarts. And I'll take whatever books you have about Salazar Slytherin too."

Pointing to an aisle near the back of the store, he said "Slytherin books'll be over there. Come up to the front when you're done. We've got the school books available in sets."

Harry made his way over to the section the salesperson had pointed out, and found a whole section dedicated to Salazar Slytherin. He picked out what looked like the most interesting titles, and brought them up to the front to purchase.

"Anything else for you today?" the man asked.

"I guess...do you have any books about wizarding ettiquette or the wizarding world?" Harry said.

"Oh, so you want the muggleborn book package for Hogwarts first years?"

"Er, what's the difference?"

"Muggleborn package it is then."

The man pulled a bag of books from under the desk. It included all the required school titles, as well as two others called "Making Your Way in the Wizarding World" and "Beginners Guide to Wizarding Ettiquette".

"Oh! Do you have the Purebloods Guide to EVERYTHING in the Wizarding World?" Harry asked.

"Of course we do, Mister Potter," the man said as he used his wand to summon a book to his hand.

He wrapped up all of the books together and shrunk them for Harry, instructing him to tap each book three times to return it to full size.

Once Harry had paid, he left the shop and was greeted by Hagrid, holding an ice cream cone for him. The rest of his shopping went off without a hitch, and Harry was actually ready to return to the Dursleys for the first time ever, if only because he had books to read and Hogwarts to look forward to.


End file.
